Brad Smiley to coach Trinity Valley CC for last time in HOT bowl

Trinity Valley Community College athletic director/head football coach Brad Smiley has announced his resignation to become offensive coordinator at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisana.

Smiley will coach the Cardinals for a final time Saturday at the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl in Copperas Cove. The eighth-ranked and 8-3 Cardinals are scheduled to face No. 12 Garden City Community College, also 8-3, in an 11 a.m. kickoff.

The resignation is effective at the end of the current semester.

He will leave after an 11-year tenure at TVCC in which he became the all-time winningest head football coach in college history with a 68-39 record. He also is the longest-tenured at the position along with the late Carl Andress.

“Janna and I want to say thank so much to the Trinity Valley family and the Athens community for all of the love, support and friendship that you have given our family over the past 10 years,” Smiley said. “Words cannot express how grateful we are for allowing us to raise Ben and Clary in such a special place, that they will always consider home.

“Whether you were a neighbor, co-worker, colleague, football fan, Cardinal Club supporter, mentor, church family member, former player, former youth camper, child’s teacher or coach; you have made a lifelong impact on our family, and we will always be grateful.”

“Coach Smiley was a great role model that positively impacted the lives of student/athletes during his 11-year tenure at TVCC”, said college President Jerry King. “Coach Smiley and his family have been a tremendous asset to our college and our community and will always be part of the TVCC family.

“We wish Coach Smiley and his family the very best in this new opportunity.”

The 2014 season at TVCC was the high-water mark of Smiley’s tenure. The Cardinals completed the third 12-0 season in school history and captured SWJCFC, regional and Heart of Texas Bowl.

As a result of the Cardinals’ record-setting and perfect season, Smiley was named JUCO National Coach of the Year by American Football Monthly magazine.

Smiley led the Cardinals to SWJCFC regular season titles the past five years, though the 2013 title was vacated by NJCAA sanctions, and three regional titles and four bowl appearances during that span.

The Cardinals have appeared in the past 60 NJCAA polls, including a current streak of 20 straight times in the Top 10.

Upon his arrival as head coach in 2007, Smiley was no stranger to Athens, having served as offensive line and tight ends coach, as well as recruiting coordinator in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, for Cardinal Hall of Fame coach Scotty Conley. He was a part of the 1999 SWJCFC championship and 1999 Red River Bowl championship teams. His line helped pave the way for the conference’s leading rushing attack both seasons as well as ranking in the top five nationally.

Smiley came to TVCC after spending seven seasons coaching in New Orleans at Tulane University. During his tenure at Tulane, he was part of an offensive staff that helped produce the university’s all-time leading passer, leading scorer and leading rusher as well as several all-time leading receivers. He was part of the team’s 2002 Hawaii Bowl Championship, 2005 Disney’s Wide World of Sports Spirit Award and 2005 Football Writers of America Association Courage Award.

Smiley began his coaching career at his alma mater, Baylor University, as a student assistant in 1995. He then moved to Northwestern State and was part of the 1997 Southland Football Conference Championship team helping NSU advance to the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Championship Playoffs.

Smiley and his wife, Janna, have two children, Benjamin Andrew, 14 and Clary Ann, 12. He holds a BBA in Marketing from Baylor University (1995) and a Master of Education from Northwestern State (1997).

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